Keeping Yourself Safe
If you are worried about someone knowing you have
visited this website please read the following safety
information.
Please note: The information below is for guidance only and may
not completely cover your tracks. If you want to be completely sure
of not being tracked online, the safest way would be to access the
internet at a local library, an internet cafe, friend's house or at
work.
How can an abuser discover your internet activities?
Computer spyware is becoming very easy to purchase and install
on home computers. You may think that you are safe to access a home
computer, not knowing that what you do is being tracked.
Abusers can also look at the history of sites you've
visited
As a rule, internet browsers will save certain information as
you surf the internet. This includes images from websites visited,
words entered into search engines and a trail ('history') that
reveals the sites you have visited. Below are instructions on how
to minimise the chances of someone finding out that you have
visited this website.
Warning about deleting cookies and address histories
It is important to state that there is a risk involved in
removing data from your computer. For instance, if your partner
uses online banking and has a saved password, then if you clear the
cookies on your PC, your partner will realise you have done
so, because their password will no longer be saved. Also, your
partner may notice if the address history on the PC has been
cleared, and this may raise suspicion.
How do I work out which browser I'm using?
If you know what browser you are using, then skip to the
relevant instructions below. If you do not know the type of browser
you are using, click on 'Help' on the toolbar at the top of the
browser screen. A drop down menu will appear, the last entry will
say 'About Internet Explorer', 'About Mozilla Firefox', or
something similar. The entry refers to which browser type you are
using - you should then refer to the relevant instructions
below.
Instructions on how to delete history & cache from your
PC
The Microsoft Most Valuable Professional website will give you
instructions on how to do this.
Internet Explorer 6
(Find your version by selecting Help in the Internet explorer
and clicking About Internet Explorer). Click on the Tools menu and
select Internet Options. On the General page, under Temporary
Internet Files, click on Delete Cookies and then OK. Click on
Delete Files, put a tick in the box labeled Delete all offline
content and click OK. Under History, click on Clear History and
then OK. Now look at the top of the window and click on the Content
tab, select AutoComplete and finally, Clear Forms.
Internet Explorer 7
Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options. In the
General page under Browser History, select the Delete... button.
Either select and Delete each section: Temporary internet files;
Cookies, History; Forms data and Passwords; or select the Delete
all... button at the bottom to clear everything.
Firefox 1 (not Netscape)
Click on Tools and then Options, then click on Privacy. Click on
the Clear button next to History; Saved Form Information; Cookies
and Cache.
Firefox 2
Click on Tools and then Options, then click on Privacy. At
private data select settings, ensure that all boxes have been
selected and then click on Clear Now
Netscape 7
Click on the Edit menu and select Preferences. In the left
pane, expand History then in the right area click Clear
History. Next, expand Privacy and Security and select Cookies
then on the button Manage Stored Cookies and in the new dialog box
click Remove All Cookies. Then repeat similar for Forms and
the Manage Stored Form Data button and the same for Passwords and
the Manage Stored Passwords button. Additionally, you may Manage
Forms, Cookies and Passwords individually from the Tools menu - but
not the temporary page Cache files.
Opera
Click on Tools and then Preferences. Click on the Advanced tab
and then the History section on the left-hand side. Click the Clear
button to the right of Addresses and the Empty Now button to the
right of Disk cache.
Safari (often used on Apple Macs)
Resetting Safari clears the history, empties the cache, clears
the Downloads window, and removes all cookies. It also removes any
saved user names and passwords or other autofill data and clears
Google/Yahoo search entries. To do this go to the Safari menu at
top left hand screen. Choose Reset Safari, and click Reset.
Deleting your browsing history
Internet browsers also keep a record of all the web pages you
visit. This is known as a 'history'. To delete history for Internet
Explorer and Netscape/Firefox hold down the Ctrl key on the
keyboard, then press the H key (Crtl, Alt and H for Opera). Find
any entries right click and choose Delete. For Safari, select
History at top of the screen and choose "Clear History"
E-mail
If an abuser sends you threatening or harassing e-mail messages,
they may be printed and saved as evidence of this abuse. Be aware
of how records of your emails can be accessed, any email you have
previously sent will be stored in sent Items. Go to sent items and
delete emails you don't want a person to see.
If you started an email but didn't finish it, it might be in
your drafts folder. Go to the draft folder to delete it. If you
reply to any email, the original message will probably be in the
body of the message - delete the email if you don’t want anyone to
see your original message. When you delete an item in any email
program (Outlook Express, Outlook, Thunderbird etc) it does not
really delete the item - it moves the item to a folder called
Deleted Items. You have to delete the items in Deleted Items to
remove them completely.
If there is a risk that your abuser may know how to access
your emails, it is a good idea to set up a new email account. Use a
provider like Hotmail or Yahoo for an account you can access from
anywhere, and use a name that is not recognisable as you, for
example bakedbeans@hotmail.co.uk. Keep this email
secret.
Toolbars
Toolbars such as Google, AOL and Yahoo keep a record of the
search words you have typed into the toolbar search box. In order
to erase all the search words you have typed in, you will need to
check the individual instructions for each type of toolbar. For
example, for the Google toolbar all you need to do is click on the
Google icon, and choose 'Clear Search History'.
General security
If you do not use a password to log on to your computer, someone
else will be able to access your email and track your internet
usage. The safest way to find information on the Internet, would be
at a local library, a friend's house, or at work.